A blog about an actress, silent film, and the Jazz Age; and occasionally the Denishawn Dance Company, writer Frank Wedekind, his character Lulu, Weimar Germany, Hollywood, the state of Kansas, books, music, art, history and other things sometimes only tangentially related to the heart of the matter, written on a regular basis by Thomas Gladysz, Director of the LBS.

Tuesday, March 9, 2010

More six degrees of separation: Mack Sennett

Speaking of six degrees of cinematic separation - I just finished writing about a fantastic new book about Mack Sennett. It's called Mack Sennett's Fun Factory, and it's by Brent E. Walker. The book was recently published by McFarland.

What caught my attention were the handful Mack Sennett regulars who were also associated with Louise Brooks through an appearance in one or more of her films. Of course, familiars Ford Sterling and Wallace Beery come to mind. Each of them were in two films with Brooks.

Also, the mustached Chester Conklin was in A Social Celebrity (1926), while the lovely Natalie Kingston (pictured right) was in A Girl in Every Port (1928). One fact I was amazed to find out is that Kingston was the great granddaughter of General Vallejo, for whom the city of Vallejo, California is named. That's not far from where I live! Kingston grew up there.

And as well, Sennett standout Roscoe Fatty Arbuckle directed Brooks in Windy Riley Goes Hollywood (1931), a short made for Educational when both Brooks and Arbuckle were on the way down in their respective careers. Another Sennett associate is James Abbe, the acclaimed photographer who took a handful of fantastic photographs of Louise Brooks at the time she was in Paris filming Prix de Beaute (1930). Later in life, Abbe ended up as the TV critic for the Oakland Tribune newspaper. Some day, somebody should publish his memoirs. He lead an incredible life.

Thanks Thomas, and having stumbled upon a number of James Abbe's Oakland Tribune columns with their interesting anecdotes, it would be great to see his memoirs in print. Several writers who worked for Sennett were also newspapermen at various times--including Reed Heustis who also later worked for the Oakland Tribune for a number of years.

Launched in 1995, the Louise Brooks Society (www.pandorasbox.com) is an online archive and international fan club devoted to the silent film star best known for her role as Lulu in Pandora's Box. Our motto, "To understand just one life, you have to swallow the world." - Salman Rushdie

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This blog is authored by THOMAS GLADYSZ, founding Director of the Louise Brooks Society. It is a continuation of the old LBS blog at LiveJournal, which started in 2002. Please send comments, questions, or material to share to silentfilmbuffATgmailDOTcom